Shadows of Love
by The Lanternkeeper
Summary: Grimsley had always liked Shauntal, but they had never really faced up to their feelings. But, when she has to ask him out on a date for a new romance novel, who knows what will happen? Rated T, for language. My first try at romance, so be nice please!


**Greetings, everyone! I've never tried to write a real romance before, so please bear with me! If there's something I can do better, PLEASE, PLEASE tell me!**

**Also, this story changes POV every now and then, from Grimsley to Shauntal, so be wary. *shifty eyes***

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, or any of the characters. I just find odd little pairings and spontaneously start writing fics for them. ^^;**

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><p>I couldn't understand why I should suddenly be attracted to her like this. I'd been around the girl all my life, so why now? Why here?<p>

We'd known each other since we were both in grade school- no, before that. Our mothers had set up play dates for us since we were 2. I was a little older than she, so my mother always thought I was bullying her. She was nice, though.

I wasn't thinking about love at that time, certainly not, but I did like her. As classy as I was as a child, I didn't notice al l the great things about her until I was about 9 or 10. I took note of the facts that she had a nice personality, surprisingly good insight on things for her age, and eyes that looked absolutely criminal behind glasses... Not that I was looking at that time.

All throughout grade school, we had been sort of friends, and when we entered junior high school, we met Caitlin and Marshal, both of whom would later join us as Elite Four members later in life.

Caitlin had been a small, strange girl, with the same upper-class upbringing as me, but also with a tendency to sleep often. A tad too often, in fact. Marshal, on the other hand, was strong, obnoxious, and very, VERY loud. He got into fights every other day, and Caitlin would always reprimand him while he was waiting outside the principal's office. The relationship they shared was not romantic at all, more like that of a princess and her bodyguard. Oh, yeah... There was one other guy with her, too. Some fellow named... Darach? Yes, that was it. He didn't talk often, and they lost touch shortly after high school.

I had tried to be polite and courteous to Caitlin, but every word I said to her was met with a glare that looked like she wanted to kill me. It didn't bother me very much, though. One might say it had no effect. As for my relation with Marshal, he didn't like me much either, but he was much more willing to show it. He beat me up on the days he wasn't getting into fights. I tried to use my Pokemon to fight him off, but he just used his. My lone Purrloin was no match for his Timburr.

Regardless, Shauntal managed to remain on speaking terms with both of them. Marshal couldn't touch her, nor his Pokemon hers, which frustrated him to no end. She and Caitlin managed to get into lengthy debates, however, and both would always come out laughing.

As for the bond between myself and Shauntal... I had feelings for her once, in high school, but she and I both decided that it was just teenage hormones acting up, and that we should just leave it alone. So, it didn't really count.

But now... Now it was different. We were adults... Sort of. Young adults, let's say.

Anyway, before we get too deep into the story, we'll get back to the history, just to finish it off.

After we graduated high school, we each went on short separate journeys, each for different reasons. Shauntal was going to travel the region in order to learn more and better her writing, Caitlin was going to work on her self-control, since she apparently had some temper issues to smooth out, and Marshal was going to study under Alder, the future Champion above us, who was a senior at the time we were freshmen in high school.

As for me, I was going to strengthen myself and my Pokemon. It was during high school that I realized, _I was bone-thin_. I started working out some, and eventually built up a new, lean, muscular me. Looking back now, I realize that I wasn't doing it for myself. I was doing it for her. Shauntal would _have_ to be impressed by the new me when we met again.

I attained more Pokemon, restricting myself to just four, since that seemed like enough to deal with. I already had Purrloin, already evolved into Liepard, and a Sandile, evolved into a Krokorok, so I began searching. More specifically, I sought Dark-type Pokemon in the region, since I had a preference for them. They made me feel comfortable with myself and with the world. I looked around, and eventually found a Scraggy and a Pawniard, which I evolved to comprise my full team.

After much wandering around the region, I inadvertently ended up fighting Gym Leaders in my quest for strength. They were fairly simple, except for one. The fellow in Castelia City, who was the father of my now-good-friend Burgh, trained Bug-types, probably inspiring his son to do so, too, which naturally gave me trouble. We still keep in touch today.

It wasn't until I had come to the formidable cave known as 'Victory Road,' that I realized what I wanted to do with myself, why I was training. I wanted that spot in the Elite Four. I wanted it so badly it hurt. Naturally, I had to go back to Striaton City and fight the Gyms I had missed, Striaton and Nacrene.

I took care of them, went back to the great castle, and applied for the position. Following four difficult battles to prove my worth against the current Elite Four at the time, I got the job. It wasn't until I walked into the lounge for Elite Four members that I saw who my co-4 were. Yes, indeed, my old friends, and I use the term loosely, from high school. What are the odds, right?

Not much had changed. Marshal had gotten even stronger since high school, and was intent on making up for lost time. Caitlin, however, was much more friendly towards me now, and even asked me to forgive her behavior from school. Self-control improved? Definitely. Naturally, I accepted, and we became much more closely bonded as friends. As for Shauntal... She was even smarter than she was in high school, and her taste in outfits had gotten much more... _foreign_, for lack of a better word.

And so, we began our careers as Elite Trainers.

The story really began one day, no different from any other. Or so I thought...

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><p>"..." I groaned. Another dead end. <em>Damn writer's block<em>, I thought as I scratched out the last paragraph in pen with a frustrated growl. Usually, my tower was where I had my best inspiration, but today... Not so much.

"...?" Jellicent came up behind me and made a questioning noise, as if asking if I were alright.

I smiled and patted her head, reassuring her, "Yeah, I'm fine... It's just..."

"...?" She made the noise again.

Sighing, I slumped into my seat on the couch and elaborated. "I need some more information. I don't know enough about romance, or love, or anything stupid like that. You know?" She nodded solemnly.

"Why don't you go out on a date, then?" A new voice, a familiar one... Oh, that's good. I should use that sometime. After filing that line away for later, I looked to see who it was.

"Caitlin? What are you doing here?" I asked, honestly curious. She never came up here if she could help it.

She sighed exasperatedly, saying, "Grimsley and Marshal are having an armwrestling match down in the lounge, and I got bored. I figured, why not come up for some girl talk? Besides, you look like you need it." She yawned, and sat down on the couch next to me.

"Wait a second. _Grimsley_ and _Marshal_ are _armwrestling_?"

"Yeah. They've been at it for an hour and a half now. Grimsley's getting his butt whooped, but he keeps trying. If nothing else, the man's persistent," she shrugged.

I blinked, unable to comprehend the situation, then turned my head away so that Caitlin wouldn't see. More than anything else at the moment, I had to concentrate on not blushing at the thought of Grimsley doing something so... _masculine_.

"Anyway, I'd rather not think about it. Such brutish behavior is an insult to Trainers of our caliber, I should think," she said somewhat huffily, before her tone turned helpful. "If you need some more insight on love, romance, etc., the best way to get it is to experience it. It's just like with all other aspects of life, the best way to learn about it is to go do it."

Looking back at her, I realized how much wisdom was contained in the small girl. Where did she keep all that brainpower, anyway? Did she keep it all in her hair...? No, focus! "Go on a date?" I asked, incredulous. "I don't know the first thing about that!"

Caitlin just rolled her eyes and groaned in frustration, following it up with, "_Then go do it, and find out_." And with that, she got up, and leapt onto the staircase from the challenger's platform and left the tower. I watched her go, and thought on her words. Maybe... Maybe it was the best way... Hmm...

"..." Golurk came up behind me this time, since Jellicent had gotten bored and started playing with Chandelure and Cofagrigus.

"What do you think?" I asked Golurk, not really expecting an answer.

There was a mid-volume grinding, then a robotic voice sounded, "_Go ask him. He's waiting for you_." As used as I was to any and all Ghost-type Pokemon, I was not expecting that in the slightest. It then proceeded to pick me up and fly me down to the E4 lounge. Yeah, that's right. Golurk CAN FLY.

When I arrived, Golurk set me down and went back up to play with the others. I assumed it would come back when I was finished. I walked in, and Grimsley and Marshal were _still_ in their match, their eyes locked in intensity... Another good line! Filing that one away, too, I walked up behind Marshal and blew softly on the back of his neck, startling him.

"GYAAH!" he yelped, and Grimsley slammed his hand down on the table.

"Yes!" Grimsley cried victoriously. "I beat you! I finally beat you!" he continued, standing up and placing his hands on the table.

"No fair!" Marshal shouted, stamping his hands on the table with such force I thought it would break. "The ghost chick snuck up on me!"

... What? "Excuse me?" I asked, raising my eyebrows and lowering my glasses down my nose. "What did you call me?"

"Uh... Uh..."

"We've been co-Trainers for four years now, and you _still_ don't know my name?"

While Grimsley was trying not to let his snickers be heard, Marshal was backing away from me as I advanced, his hands raised. "N-Nothing, I just-"

My eyes flashed. "'_You just-' _what? What were you going to say, _Marshal_?"

He was panicking. I think the term is 'on the ropes,' isn't it? After a brief, two-second stare-off, I backed away, laughing. "Gotcha!" I poked his arm, still giggling. "Just kidding, you're fine," I assured him, sitting down at the table.

Marshal was blushing, probably because a girl just kicked his butt, and said without looking at me, "Y-yeah, well... I've got some training stuff to do, so I'll see you guys later." And with a wave over his shoulder, he left the room.

"So..." Grimsley began. "What's up?"

I played it casual at first. "Oh, you know... Stuff... Writer's block again." Then I took a closer look at him. "Why is your shirt off?"

He looked down at his bare chest, blushed and said, "Marshal said that was one of the rules of armwrestling, that you had to take your shirt off when you did it."

After banging my head on the table, I got up, walked over to him, placed a hand on his shoulder and sighed. "Oh, you poor sheltered child, you."

He put his shirt back on, and I got to the point. "So, like I said, I've got writer's block. I suppose it's my fault anyway, but I started writing a romance novel without knowing the slightest bit about romance. So..." He was putting his scarf on. No matter what the rest of his clothing ensemble was, he always wore that scarf. He had since the first day I met him. "I was wondering... Would you... go on a date with me?" I finally asked shyly, blushing slightly.

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><p>"Would you... go on a date with me?" The second she asked me, my heart skipped a few beats. I felt like I was dreaming for a second, but then realized that would mean that my victory over Marshal hadn't happened.<p>

"Uhh..." I wasn't entirely sure how to respond to it, so 'Uhh...' was all that would come out.

She blushed even deeper, and she looked away while adding on to her last question, "I-If you don't want to, that's fine. I mean, I can find out another way if you'd rather not..." Her voice trailed off at the end.

"No, no!" I answered, maybe a little too hastily. "I-I mean, that is to _say_," I cleared my throat, hoping that my voice wouldn't crack again like it had just then, "I'd love to help you with your book. When would be a good time for you?"

Her expression brightened considerably. "You will? Great! How about tomorrow, at seven, for dinner? Will that work for you?"

I smiled as I replied, "Hey, I've got no plans. Tomorrow at seven."

She seemed to have a great burden lifted off her chest. "Awesome! See you then, I guess!" She left the room, leaving me with a feeling of pure bliss. _She asked me. She really asked me._

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><p><strong>So, there's the first chapter! Sorry if they seem a little OOC, or if their personalities changed a little bit throughout the story. Anyway, please review! Reviews will be used to power my cookie oven, but only for those who review!<strong>


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